It’s hard to believe that the triathlon season has come to an end! I have had a great summer of racing, challenging myself at longer distances and learning a lot about the sport of triathlon along the way.
Trisport added a new race this year at Sherkston Shores, located on Lake Erie just a short drive from Fort Erie, ON. This would be the last race of the year, and the Sprint Championships – age group prize money would be up for grabs!
I headed down on the cloudy afternoon, thinking it would be a good day for a race. As I was pulling into the race site, the clouds opened up, and I spent the next hour setting up and getting soaked by the rain. As luck would have it though, it stopped a few minutes before the swim start, so at least we didn’t have to race in the rain!
In the transition area before the race, I noticed that all the really, really fast guys in my age group had decided to show up for this one. There was going to be some good competition, and while my strategy for this short race was to hammer it out as hard as I could, I didn’t expect a podium finish this week!
SWIM: 750m – 16:00 (2:08/100m)
11/15 M25-29, 84/244 Overall
I started out feeling great on the swim. I really gave it my all over the first 300m, and was right up with one of the front packs. However, I will admit that since Belwood, I have been slacking off on my swim training, and I sure felt it. I slowed dramatically over the next few hundred metres, and came out of the water with the top swimmers from the next wave! At least I don’t have to swim until next year now!!
BIKE: 20 km – 33:03 (36.3 km/h)
7/15 M25-29, 45/244 Overall
The bike course was short and flat. Despite being a little wet, I really wanted to hammer the bike course. I kept myself in a high gear the entire time, and after getting the heart rate under control in the first few kilometres, I dug in over the last 15km. I was rewarded with my best bike speed ever in a triathlon, over 36 km/h! I know it was a short, flat race, but it still felt good to know that I can hit those sorts of speeds, especially since I am still riding my Giant OCR 3 road bike!
RUN: 5 km – 19:29 (3:54/km)
7/15 M25-29, 30/244 Overall
This really was a “sprint” race. With the short bike ride and short run, there really was no letting up from start to finish. I was averaging about 3:45/km over the first three, but then the run course took us down and right along the beach (on the sand) for a kilometre. I was almost 4:15 for that one, but finished strong and managed my best run pace in a triathlon as well.
Total: 1:10:11, 10/15 M25-29, 45/244 Overall (Full Results )
Overall, the last tri of the year went pretty well. I felt really good on the bike and run. With some work on my swimming in the offseason, I may be able to shave off a few more minutes and really compete with some of the top age-groupers! I was very happy with the progress I made through the year, I am stronger in all three disciplines, and have also shaved time off by working on my transitions!
I still have the Niagara-on-the-Lake duathlon coming up on September 23rd, and then the Toronto Marathon (my first full-distance marathon) on October 15th, so check back for updates!
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